Alvaro De Rujula

Alvaro De Rujula (born 1944) is a Spanish theoretical physicist at work at CERN.

Quotes

• The relation between experimentalists and theorists is often one of healthy competition for truth and less healthy competition for fame.
  • What is a "theoretical physicist"? at CERN Public Web.

• If you made a short visit to CERN's Theory Division you might think that you are in a zoo. But that is not entirely right. True enough, you will find women and men of dozens of nationalities, cultures, languages and what not... some of them may even look like ET. But what these people are doing is what defines our species in its ensemble: asking, and sometimes answering, some of the deepest questions. Thus the zoo is more like a circus of magicians, in which the performers — uncharacteristically — would insist in showing you their cards... and the entrance is free!
  • "What is a "theoretical physicist"?" at CERN Public Web.

• Science is what we do when we don't know what we're doing.
  • Alvaro De Rujula, quoted in "Large Hadron Collider - The Search For The Higgs"; this quote can be heard at approximately 3:55 to 4:15 in the video. It is important to note, it could be taken out of context. It implies that science is what we use when we do not know the answer to something.

• "What is important is to invent something last, not first."
  • Alvaro De Rujula, quoted during CERN Summer Student lecture in 2006.